This invention pertains to joint support devices, and in particular, to such knee and elbow joint brace apparatus that are designed to allow the user to protect and support the knee and elbow joints with the amount of pressure that the individual can set by himself or herself.
Many types and designs of joint braces are currently on the market. There have been many of these devices that have been patented. Examples of these devices include the U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,698 to Horst Kleylein for a Knee Orthosis which issued on 20 Oct. 1987, the United States Patent issued to Otis E. Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,912 for a Knee Protector/Stabilizer issued on 17 Jan. 1984 and the United States Patent issued to Randy C. Watson and Richard L. Baiocchi on 24 Jan. 1995 for an Air Pressure Knee Brace Apparatus. These devices show different approaches in tightening and loosening the pressure around a knee joint with only the Watson and Baiocchi device using air pressure to accomplish this goal. What is needed is a lightweight device that an individual can easily fold and store and, at the same time, be readily available and be able to use on the elbow and knee joints with no inconvenience.
Clearly, it is desirable for a device of this type to be very lightweight. At the same time, the device should be easy to manufacture and be produced of inexpensive material. It is the object of this invention to set forth a knee and elbow joint brace apparatus which avoids the disadvantages, previously mentioned limitations of typical joint braces.